NOT MUCH LUCK IN THE WORLD CHAMP AT ESSAY FOR CRG DRIVERS

Felice Tiene ended 8th in KF after an unlucky Prefinal. Pedro Hiltbrand was forced to the retirement with two laps to go. Alex Quinn surprising in KF Junior with a spectacular comeback Prefinal.

Essay (France). The weekend just ended in Essay (France – Low Normandy) at the International Circuit Aunay Le Bois has been full of emotions. The venue hosted in fact the only round of the KF and KF Junior World Championship, as weather affected the finals held on Sunday. CRG drivers have been hit by some bad luck in this occasion and they could not live up to their expectations and get what was at their reach.

The two world titles have been won by the two Brits Lando Norris (KF) and Enaam Ahmed (KF Junior) in Essay, but the two CRG drivers Felice Tiene and Pedro Hitbrand could have also slided in the KF title contenders, should bad luck have not hit them.

FELICE TIENE EIGHTH IN KF

The weekend of CRG drivers started a bit steep since qualifying, exception made for Felice Tiene who was sixth, but then it got better in qualifying heats as the fourth place made the Italian driver quite hopeful ahead of the final stages.

Unfortunately, the rain fallen on Sunday morning during the Prefinal and the wet tarmac made Tiene slip down to the 14th place. The Spaniard Pedro Hiltbrand managed to get the most out of the wet tarmac instead, recovering from P18 to the 9th place in the Prefinal.

In the Final, Tiene has been hit at the start of the race, but then managed to close in with a streak of fast laps installing himself right behind the leading group. At the end, he had to settle for P8, showing anyway a crescendo of performance that was confirmed by the third fastest lap of the race. Pedro Hiltbrand placed himself close to the front runners but then lost some ground due to a technical problem to the engine and had to retire when only two laps were still to go.

Regarding the other two CRG drivers competing in KF, Dionisios Marcu could not get access to the final stages as he was P9 in the repechage race, while Sidney Gomez did not earn his pass to the final stages due to the results in the heats.

EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE BY QUINN IN KF JUNIOR

In KF Junior, the very young Alex Quinn stunned everyone putting in a series of amazing and always positive results after finding the right setup. Following the 40th time in qualifying, he was 35th after the heats and then the young Quinn managed to complete a great recover in the wet Prefinal where he finished fourth! A technical problem in the Final, probably to the carburator, slowed down Quinn since the first lap and then made him retire from the race.

Archie Tillett did not manage to get any positions back after a series of unlucky heats and had to settle for 22nd in his Prefinal.

POST RACE QUOTES

Felice Tiene: “This time we were not at our 100%, but I had a lot more speed in the Final than in the heats, and I managed to post the third quickest lap. Unfortunately, we made a mistake with the tires pressure in the Prefinal and I had to settle for 14th. In the Final I just missed a tenth from the front runners, but starting from the 14th position I could not go beyond P8. I hope for a lot better in Sarno’s KZ1 World Championship to be held next 12 October.”

Pedro Hiltbrand: “On the dry I have always been struggling a bit in this weekend, but I am happy as in the final stages I found a lot of speed. The chassis was perfect and in the Prefinal I completed a good comeback from P18 to 9th, but I was slowed down by a problem to the engine in the Final and I eventually had to retire. I am happy anyway on all the work done by the whole team.”

Euan Jeffery, team manager CRG: “We have been hit by bad luck in this weekend, especially in KF Junior, where we run a good Prefinal with Quinn but then have been penalized by a technical problem in the Final. In KF, we had good hopes even if weather conditions were difficult due to the mix of wet and dry tarmac. Felice Tiene has been hit from behind at turn two and therefore lost a lot of time, but then he managed to close in thanks to some great lap times which shows the quality of our material. Hiltbrand started well and managed to be close to the leading group, but a technical problem to the engine made him retire with two laps to go. Our two drivers have run a good Final though. Now we are focused on Sarno’s KZ1 and KZ2 World Championship. We already started preparing the race and we are quite hopeful.”